The holidays could be a bit more sober this year in Thailand.

Supermarkets and other retailers that sell and advertise gift baskets — a staple of the holiday season — were warned Wednesday that stocking them with alcohol could result in steep fines and up to a year in jail. The ban on booze-filled baskets is the latest attempt by the government to curb drunken revelry around the holidays that result every year in hundreds of road deaths.

The Health Ministry, which is leading the effort, has launched a campaign called “Healthy Gift Baskets for the New Year.”

Baskets laden with goodies and wrapped in cellophane are typically given as New Year’s gifts, with the priciest varieties containing imported chocolates and top-shelf whiskies.

This year, businesses nationwide have been told to comply with Section 30 of the Alcohol Beverage Control Act passed in February 2008, which makes “selling alcoholic beverages attached with other products illegal,” said deputy health minister Manit Nopamornbodee.

“In past festive seasons, Thai people have given gift baskets with alcoholic beverages to celebrate the holidays, leading to injuries and deaths in road accidents,” Manit said in a recent statement on the ban. “Every year we have tried to solve this problem but not succeeded.”

Shop owners and store managers who sell gift baskets containing alcohol face a fine of 10,000 baht ($300) and up to six months behind bars, while advertising gift baskets with alcohol can result in a 500,000-baht fine ($15,000) and up to one year in prison, said Manit.

“If I want to give someone a gift basket, I’ll give a bottle of honey and a bag of brown jasmine rice,” Manit said Wednesday. “That’s much better than alcohol.”

Associated Press